by Dr. Lauri Przybysz, D.Min
9 Ways to Pray in Your Classroom
- Offer Time Back to God
- Form Prayer Teams
- Use an Opening Prayer
- Use a Passage of Scripture
- Sing!
- Offer Up Petitions
- Choose a Word of Focus
- Make Prayer Journals
- Utilize Prayer Resources
Let us pray with and for each other in classrooms. We are thankful that we can. Children of all ages benefit from taking time to pray at the beginning of the school day or before starting a new task. When we pray, we turn our minds and hearts to God. What better way for students to prepare for learning?
1. Offer Time Back to God. Taking 5 minutes out of the morning or before your regular Religion classes can bless the rest of the school day. When we begin with prayer before diving into the lesson, our hearts are primed to experience deeper learning.
2. Form Prayer Teams. Students of any age can get involved in planning and leading prayer for the class. Assign groups of 2-3 students to be prayer leaders. For younger students, provide the prayers that they will lead. Older students will enjoy preparing the prayer using the resources you supply.
3. How Shall We Pray? Each unit in your religion textbook includes an opening prayer that the students can include in their plans. It is good to include the “Our Father,” which reminds us that we all belong to God’s family. We also do well to ask Our Lady and the Saints to intercede for us. When we pray traditional prayers daily, they stick with us.
4. Proclaim a Passage of Scripture. You will find the daily Mass Scripture readings at https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading. Choose a few verses from these readings and invite your students to reflect on God’s Word. Older students may proclaim the Scripture passage. Catholics all over the world are reading this same Scripture passage at Mass that day.
5. Enrich Prayer with Music. Sing! St. Augustine taught, “One who sings prays twice.” Choose a hymn appropriate to the season, with lyrics that are easy to remember. It is helpful to sing the same hymn each day for a while.
6. For Whom Shall We Pray? This is an opportunity for students to take their concerns to God. A habit of prayer forms us to think of others and builds peace. Invite students to speak their petitions aloud or to present them silently to God, and add your own petitions. Allow some unrushed quiet time.
7. Choose a Word to Ponder. Before ending prayer time, invite students to think of one word or phrase that they recall from the prayer they have heard, said, or sung. Invite them to recall this special word throughout the day and remember God’s love for them.
8. Make Prayer Journals: Invite students to keep a private prayer journal in which to record their “word to ponder” and prayer intentions. Allow a few minutes for them to write in their journals.
9. Catholic Prayer Resources at Your Fingertips. Prayers for all seasons and occasions are available free at https://store.rclbenziger.com/catholic-resources. Consider subscribing to Praying the Scriptures: Lectionary Resources, an online resource that features the Sunday readings, liturgical calendar and session plans for all grade levels.
Dr. Lauri Przybysz specializes in equipping families to live their vocation to be domestic churches and signs of God’s love. Lauri received the Doctor of Ministry from the Catholic University of America, and she has been both a Catholic middle school religion teacher and a faith formation coordinator at the archdiocesan and parish levels. She is the mother of six children and grandmother of 21.